Jimmy Carter, Jerry Brown: Men of vision

President Jimmy Carter installed 31 solar panels on the White House on June 20, 1979. At the dedication ceremony Carter predicted: “In the year 2000 this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy.” Carter was wrong: In 1986 the Ronald Reagan removed the 20 panels. But Carter was also right. The panels are still working, just not on the White House.

What happened to those panels? One of them is at the Carter Library, and another just arrived in Dezhous, China, where it is being installed as a permanent working display at t...